The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a publicresearch university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It became the University of California Southern Branch in 1919, making it the second-oldest undergraduate campus of the ten-campus system after the original University of California campus in Berkeley (1873).[11] It offers 337 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines.[12] With an approximate enrollment of 30,000 undergraduate and 12,000 graduate students, UCLA has the highest enrollment of any university in California[6] and is the most applied to university in the United States with over 112,000 applications for fall 2015.[13]

UCLA student-athletes compete as the Bruins in the Pacific-12 Conference. The Bruins have won 125 national championships, including 112 NCAA team championships.[20][21] UCLA student-athletes have won 250 Olympic medals: 125 gold, 65 silver and 60 bronze.[22] The Bruins have competed in every Olympics since 1920 with one exception (1924), and have won a gold medal in every Olympics that the United States has participated in since 1932.[23]

In 1914, the school moved to a new campus on Vermont Avenue (now the site of Los Angeles City College) in East Hollywood. In 1917, UC Regent Edward Augustus Dickson, the only regent representing the Southland at the time, and Ernest Carroll Moore, Director of the Normal School, began working together to lobby the State Legislature to enable the school to become the second University of California campus, after UC Berkeley. They met resistance from UC Berkeley alumni, Northern California members of the state legislature, and Benjamin Ide Wheeler, President of the University of California from 1899 to 1919, who were all vigorously opposed to the idea of a southern campus. However, David Prescott Barrows, the new President of the University of California, did not share Wheeler's objections. On May 23, 1919, the Southern Californians' efforts were rewarded when Governor William D. Stephens signed Assembly Bill 626 into law, which merged the Los Angeles Normal School with the University of California as the Southern Branch of the University of California. The same legislation added its general undergraduate program, the College of Letters and Science.[25] The Southern Branch campus opened on September 15 of that year, offering two-year undergraduate programs to 250 Letters and Science students and 1,250 students in the Teachers College, under Moore's continued direction.

University of California, Southern Branch's Vermont Campus, 1922.

Under University of California President William Wallace Campbell, enrollment at the Southern Branch expanded so rapidly that by the mid-1920s the institution was outgrowing the 25 acre Vermont Avenue location. The Regents conducted a search for a new location and announced their selection of the so-called "Beverly Site"—just west of Beverly Hills—on March 21, 1925 edging out the panoramic hills of the still-empty Palos Verdes Peninsula. After the athletic teams entered the Pacific Coast conference in 1926, the Southern Branch student council adopted the nickname "Bruins", a name offered by the student council at UC Berkeley.[26] In 1927, the Regents renamed the Southern Branch the "University of California at Los Angeles" (the word "at" was officially replaced by a comma in 1958, in line with other UC campuses). In the same year, the state broke ground in Westwood on land sold for $1 million, less than one-third its value, by real estate developers Edwin and Harold Janss, for whom the Janss Steps are named.[24]

The original four buildings were the College Library (now Powell Library), Royce Hall, the Physics-Biology Building (now the Humanities Building), and the Chemistry Building (now Haines Hall), arrayed around a quadrangular courtyard on the 400 acre (1.6 km²) campus. The first undergraduate classes on the new campus were held in 1929 with 5,500 students. In 1933, after further lobbying by alumni, faculty, administration and community leaders, UCLA was permitted to award the master's degree, and in 1936, the doctorate, against continued resistance from UC Berkeley.[27]

A timeline of the history can be found on its website,[28] as well as a published book.[29]

For the first 32 years of its existence, UCLA was treated as an off-site department of UC. As such, its presiding officer was called a "provost," and reported to the main campus in Berkeley. In 1951, UCLA was formally elevated to co-equal status with UC Berkeley, and its presiding officer was granted the title of chancellor. Raymond B. Allen was the first chief executive with that title. The appointment of Franklin David Murphy to the position of Chancellor in 1960 helped to spark an era of tremendous growth of facilities and faculty honors. By the end of the decade, UCLA had achieved distinction in a wide range of subjects. This era also secured UCLA's position as a proper university in its own right and not simply a branch of the UC system. This change is exemplified by an incident involving Chancellor Murphy, which was described by him later on:

I picked up the telephone and called in from somewhere, and the phone operator said, "University of California." And I said, "Is this Berkeley?" She said, "No." I said, "Well, who have I gotten to?" "UCLA." I said, "Why didn't you say UCLA?" "Oh," she said, "we're instructed to say University of California." So the next morning I went to the office and wrote a memo; I said, "Will you please instruct the operators, as of noon today, when they answer the phone to say, 'UCLA.'" And they said, "You know they won't like it at Berkeley." And I said, "Well, let's just see. There are a few things maybe we can do around here without getting their permission."[30]

In 2006, the university completed Campaign UCLA, which collected over $3.05 billion and is the second most successful fundraising campaign among public universities.[32][33] In 2008, UCLA raised over $456 million, ranking the institution among the top 10 universities in the United States in total fundraising for the year.[34]

On January 26, 2011, Meyer and Renee Luskin donated $100 million to UCLA.[35] On February 14, 2011, UCLA received a $200 million donation gift by The Lincy Foundation in order to establish The Dream Fund, which is "a community-based fund devoted to the support of medical research and academic programs at UCLA".[36]

In 2014, the university launched the Centennial Campaign for UCLA, which is intended to raise $4.2 billion by 2019.[37]

When UCLA opened its new campus in 1929, it had four buildings: Royce Hall and Haines Hall on the north, and Powell Library and Kinsey Hall (now the Humanities Building) on the south. The Janss Steps were the original 87-step entrance to the university that lead directly to the quad of these four buildings. Today, the campus includes 163 buildings across 419 acres (1.7 km²) in the western part of Los Angeles, north of the Westwood shopping district and just south of Sunset Boulevard. In terms of acreage, it is the second smallest of the ten UC campuses.[7] The campus is close but not adjacent to the 405 San Diego Freeway.[38]

The campus is located in the residential area of Westwood and bordered by Bel-Air to the north, Beverly Hills to the east, and Brentwood to the west. The campus is informally divided into North Campus and South Campus, which are both on the eastern half of the university's land. North Campus is the original campus core; its buildings are more old-fashioned in appearance and clad in imported Italian brick. North Campus is home to the arts, humanities, social sciences, law, and business programs and is centered around ficus and sycamore-lined Dickson Court, also known as the "Sunken Garden". South Campus is home to the physical sciences, life sciences, engineering, mathematical sciences, health-related fields, and the UCLA Medical Center. The campus includes sculpture gardens, fountains, museums, and a mix of architectural styles.

Janss Steps, in front of Royce Hall

Ackerman Union, the John Wooden Center, the Arthur Ashe Health and Wellness Center, the Student Activities Center, Kerckhoff Hall, the J.D. Morgan Center, the James West Alumni Center, and Pauley Pavilion stand at the center of the campus, bordering Wilson Plaza. The campus is bisected by Bruin Walk, a heavily traveled pathway from the residential hill to the main campus. At the intersection of Bruin Walk and Westwood Plaza is Bruin Plaza, featuring an outdoor performing arts stage and a bronze statue of the Bruin bear.

The first campus buildings were designed by the local firm Allison & Allison. The Romanesque Revival style of these first four structures remained the predominant building style on campus until the 1950s, when architect Welton Becket was hired to supervise the expansion of the campus over the next two decades. Becket greatly streamlined the general appearance of the campus, adding several rows of minimalist, slab–shaped brick buildings to the southern half of the campus, the largest of these being the UCLA Medical Center.[39] Architects such as A. Quincy Jones, William Pereira and Paul Williams designed many subsequent structures on the campus during the mid-20th century. More recent additions include buildings designed by architects I.M. Pei, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Richard Meier, Cesar Pelli, and Rafael Vinoly. In order to accommodate UCLA's rapidly growing student population, multiple construction and renovation projects are in progress, including expansions of the life sciences and engineering research complexes. This continuous construction gives UCLA the on-campus nickname of "Under Construction Like Always".[40]

The tallest building on campus is named after African-American alumnus Ralph Bunche, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an armistice agreement between the Jews and Arabs in Israel. The entrance of Bunche Hall features a bust of him overlooking the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden. He was the first individual of non-European background and the first UCLA alumnus to be honored with the Prize.

The Hannah Carter Japanese Garden is located a mile north of campus, in the community of Bel Air. The garden was designed by landscape architect Nagao Sakurai of Tokyo and garden designer Kazuo Nakamura of Kyoto in 1959. After the garden was damaged by heavy rains in 1969, UCLA Professor of Art and Campus Architect Koichi Kawana took on the task of its reconstruction.

The campus maintains 24,000 parking spaces and operates an award-winning sustainable transportation program.[43][44][45] Elements of the sustainable transportation program include vanpools, a campus shuttle system called BruinBus, discounted carpool permits, and subsidized transit passes. One of the pass programs includes BruinGo!,[46] which allows students and staff members to purchase discounted one-way or quarterly passes to ride Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus and the Culver CityBus.[47]

On July 29, 2014, a nearly century-old water main burst on the section of Sunset Boulevard immediately above campus, sending approximately twenty million gallons of water flooding below. The nearly four hour rush of water caused damage to buildings and athletic facilities, including Pauley Pavilion and the Wooden Center. In addition, several parking structures were partially inundated, trapping nearly 740 cars. UCLA offered emergency assistance in the form of interest-free loans to students and staff whose cars were damaged by the flood. Loans of up to $5,000 are available to victims, and are to be repaid in the span of two years through payroll deduction.[48][49][50]

The U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals ranking for 2014-2015 ranks UCLA Medical Center #5 and "Best in the West" in the United States. UCLA Medical Center ranked in the top 20 in 15 of the 16 medical specialty areas examined.[51]

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2014–2015 ranks UCLA 12th for academics and 13th for reputation.[60][61] In 2014, UCLA was ranked 37th in the QS World University Rankings,[62] 12th in the world (10th in North America) by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)[63] and 23rd in the world (13th in North America) in Financial Times' Global MBA Rankings.[64] In 2013, Business Insider ranked UCLA as having the most driven students in the world.[65] In 2015, the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) ranked the university 15th in the world based on quality of education, alumni employment, quality of faculty, publications, influence, citations, broad impact, and patents.[66] As of March 2015[update], U.S. News & World Report ranked UCLA #8 in their "Best Global University Rankings".[59] In 2014, Business Insider ranked UCLA #5 in the world for the number of alumni working at Google (behind Stanford, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon and MIT).[67] The CWTS Leiden ranking of universities based on scientific impact for 2015 ranks UCLA #20 in the world in a size-independent ranking and #7 in the world in a size-dependent ranking.[68]

The 2015 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges report ranked UCLA second among public universities (tied with the University of Virginia) and 23rd among national universities.[69]The Washington Monthly ranked UCLA fifth among national universities in 2014, with criteria based on research, community service, and social mobility.[70] The Money Magazine Best Colleges ranking for 2015 ranked UCLA #26 in the United States based on educational quality, affordability and alumni earnings.[71] In 2014, The Daily Beast's Best Colleges report ranked UCLA 10th in the country.[72] In 2014 Kiplinger ranked UCLA the 5th best-value public university in the nation, and 1st in California.[73] The 2013 Top American Research Universities report by the Center for Measuring University Performance ranks UCLA #11 in power, #12 in resources, faculty, and education, #14 in resources and education and #9 in education.[74] The 2015 Princeton Review College Hopes & Worries Survey ranked UCLA as the #5 "Dream College" among students and the #10 "Dream College" among parents.[75] The National Science Foundation ranked UCLA 10th in the nation for research and development expenditures in 2013, spending $967 million.[76] The university is one of the Public Ivies, a public university considered to provide an education comparable to those of the Ivy League.

As of March 2015[update], the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges report ranked UCLA #11 among national universities for campus ethnic diversity,[77] #1 among national universities for economic diversity among the top 25 ranked schools,[78] #22 among national universities for high school counselor rankings,[59] and tied for #3 among national universities for freshman retention rate.[79] In 2014, the Institute of International Education ranked UCLA #6 in the country for having the most international students (behind NYU, USC, the University of Illinois, Columbia and Purdue).[80] In 2014, Business Insider ranked UCLA #8 among the Smartest Public Colleges in America based on the average of the 25th and 75th percentiles of the combined SAT Math and Verbal scores of enrolled undergraduates.[81] In 2015, Business Insider ranked UCLA #5 among American colleges with the best food, and one of the top 15 American colleges with the best dining halls.[82][83] UCLA was ranked 16th in the United States by Payscale and CollegeNet's Social Mobility Index college rankings.[84] In 2015, Business Insider ranked UCLA #10 among American universities with the most students hired by Silicon Valley companies.[85]

As of March 2015[update], the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools report ranked the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS) at #13, the Anderson School of Management at #15, the David Geffen School of Medicine at #7 for Primary Care and #13 for Research, the School of Law at #16, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science (HSSEAS) at #14, and the School of Nursing #19.[59] The QS Global 200 MBA Rankings report for 2015 ranks the Anderson School of Management #9 among North American business schools.[86] The 2014 Economist ranking of Full-time MBA programs ranks the Anderson School of Management #13 in the world.[87] The 2014 Financial Times ranking of MBA programs ranks the Anderson School #26 in the world.[88] The 2014 Bloomberg Businessweek ranking of Full-time MBA programs ranks the Anderson School of Management #11 in the United States.[89] The 2014 Business Insider ranking of the world's best business schools ranks the Anderson School of Management #20 in the world.[90] The 2014 Eduniversal Business Schools Ranking ranks the Anderson School of Management #15 in the United States.[91]

Departmental rankings in the national top ten according to the 2015 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools report include Clinical Psychology (#1), Psychology (#2), Fine Arts (#4), Mathematics (#7), History (#9), Sociology (#9), English (#10), Political Science (#10), and Public Health (#10). Among engineering departments, the Computer Science department is ranked #13.[59]

Departmental rankings in the global top ten according to the 2015 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities report include Chemistry (#5), Clinical Medicine (#7), Mathematics (#4), Neuroscience and Behavior (#6), Psychiatry/Psychology (#4) and Social Sciences and Public Health (#7).[59]

Departmental rankings in the global top ten according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for 2014 include Mathematics (#9),[93] Computer Science (#9)[94] and Chemistry (#10).[95]

Academic field rankings in the global top ten according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for 2014 include Natural Sciences and Mathematics (#9)[106] and Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy (#9).[107]

Academic field rankings in the global top ten according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2014-2015 include Arts & Humanities (#10),[108] Clinical, Pre-clinical and Health (#9),[109] Engineering and Technology (#9),[110] Physical Sciences (#9),[111] and Social Sciences (#9).[112]

UCLA's library system has over nine million books and 70,000 serials spread over twelve libraries and eleven other archives, reading rooms, and research centers. It is the United States' 12th largest library in number of volumes.[113]

The first library, University Library (presently Powell Library), was founded in 1884. In 1910, Elizabeth Fargo became the university's first librarian. Lawrence Powell became librarian in 1944, and began a series of system overhauls and modifications, and in 1959, he was named Dean of the School of Library Service.[114] More libraries were added as previous ones filled. Page Ackerman became University Librarian in 1973, and was the nation's first female librarian of a system as large as UCLA's. She oversaw the first coordinations between other UC schools, and formed a new administrative network that is still in use today.[115] Since her retirement, the system has seen steady growth and improvement under various Librarians. The present University Librarian is Virginia Steel, who took office on July 15, 2013.[116]

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), UCLA supplies the most undergraduate applicants to U.S. medical schools among all American universities. In 2014, UCLA supplied 919 medical school applicants, ahead of the University of Michigan with 825 medical school applicants, followed by UC Berkeley with 769 medical school applicants.[117]

Among first-time medical school applicants who received their bachelor's degree from UCLA in 2013, 53% were admitted to at least one U.S. medical school.[118]

UCLA is rated "Most Selective" by U.S. News & World Report.[125] It received 92,681 freshman applications for Fall 2015, the highest number of any four-year university in the United States.[13] In 2015, UCLA reached its record-low admission rate of 17.3%.[119][126]

Approximately 3,200 transfer students entered UCLA in Fall 2014, with 92.3% from the California Community Colleges System.[127] Over the past 15 years over 45,000 transfer students have entered UCLA. One-third of baccalaureate degrees are awarded to students who entered UCLA as transfer students. One of the major debates is over the decreased admission of African-Americans, especially since the passage of Proposition 209 in 1996, prohibiting racial or sexual discrimination at public institutions.[128] In response to this issue, UCLA shifted to a more holistic admissions process starting Fall 2007.[129]

For Fall 2014, the David Geffen School of Medicine admitted 3.2% of its applicants, making it the #9 most selective U.S. medical school.[131] For Fall 2014, the School of Law admitted 27.9% of applicants, with a median undergraduate GPA of 3.79 and median Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score of 167 for the incoming class of 2017.[132] For Fall 2014, the Anderson School of Management admitted 18% of applicants with an average Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score of 714 for the class of 2016.[133]

The average Dental Admissions Test (DAT) scores for admitted students in the School of Dentistry for the class of 2017 were 22 in both the academic and perceptual ability sections.[134] The Graduate School of Nursing currently has an acceptance rate of 3.9%.

In 2012, Business Insider rated UCLA the most dangerous college campus in the US with 921 property crimes, and 49 violent crimes (recorded in 2011).[135] UCLA's director of media relations responded stating crime reports are taken both on and off campus, including the multiple UCLA medical centers and clinics in Los Angeles County, suggesting data might be inflated.[136] Other media outlets, such as the Los Angeles Times,[137]LAist,[138] and LA Weekly[139] disputed the ranking.

The university has a significant impact in the Los Angeles economy. It is the fifth largest employer in the county (after Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the federal government and the City of Los Angeles) and the seventh largest in the region.[140][141]

The UCLA trademark "is the exclusive property of the Regents of the University of California",[142] but it is managed, protected, and licensed through UCLA Trademarks and Licensing, a division of the Associated Students UCLA.[143][144] As such, the ASUCLA also has a share in the profits.

Due to UCLA's academic and athletic prestige, as well as the name being associated with popular images of Southern California lifestyle, apparel with UCLA logos and insignia sells not just in the United States, but as an overseas clothing and accessories brand. High demand for UCLA apparel has inspired the licensing of its trademark to UCLA brand stores throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Since 1980, 15 UCLA stores have opened in South Korea, and 49 are currently open in China. The newest store was opened in Kuwait.[145] There are also stores in Mexico, Singapore, India and Europe.[146] UCLA makes $400,000 in royalties every year through its international licensing program.[146]

When Henry "Red" Sanders came to UCLA to coach football in 1949, the uniforms were redesigned. Sanders added a gold loop on the shoulders—the UCLA Stripe. The navy blue was changed to a lighter shade of blue. Sanders figured that the baby blue would look better on the field and in film. He dubbed the uniform "Powder Keg Blue", a powder blue with an explosive kick. This would also differentiate UCLA from all other UC teams, whose official colors are blue and gold. UCLA is competitive in all major Division I-A sports and has won 125 national championships, including 112 NCAA championships, more than any other university. Most recently, UCLA's women's soccer team defeated Florida State to win its first NCAA National Championship along with women's tennis who defeated North Carolina to win its second NCAA National title ever.[147] UCLA's softball program is also outstanding.[148] Women's softball won their NCAA-leading 11th National Championship, on June 8, 2010. The women's water polo team is also dominant, with a record 7 NCAA championships. Notably, the team helped UCLA become the first school to win 100 NCAA championships overall when they won their fifth on May 13, 2007. The men's water polo team helped UCLA become the first school to win 112 NCAA championships overall when they defeated USC on December 7, 2014 and UCLA men's water polo team won their record 9 NCAA championships. Among these championships, some of the more notable victories are in men's basketball. Under legendary coach John Wooden, UCLA men's basketball teams won 10 NCAA championships, including a record seven consecutive, in 1964, 1965, 1967-1973, and 1975, and an 11th was added under then-coach Jim Harrick in 1995 (through 2008, the most consecutive by any other team is two).[148] From 1971 to 1974, UCLA men's basketball won an unprecedented 88 consecutive games. UCLA has also shown dominance in men's volleyball, with 19 national championships. All 19 teams were led by former[149] coach Al Scates, which ties him with John McDonnell of the University of Arkansas as NCAA leader for national championships in a single sport.[148]

Former UCLA basketball player and current Portland Trail Blazers player Earl Watson commented, "Eleven national championships, the best coach (Wooden) to coach the game says a lot. I take offense to those who act like UCLA is just another school compared with Duke. Duke is a great school in the east, but UCLA is worldwide."

UCLA has the most NCAA team championships with 112, followed by Stanford University with 107, then USC with 100.[20] UCLA is one of only five universities (the University of Michigan, Stanford University, Ohio State, and UC Berkeley being the others) to have won national championships in all three major men's sports (baseball, basketball, and football).[150]

UCLA shares a traditional sports rivalry with the nearby University of Southern California. Under legendary coach John Wooden, UCLA became a dominating power in men's basketball, and has won 11 NCAA championships, against USC's zero.[151] In football, UCLA has one national champion team and 16 conference titles, compared to USC's 11 national championships and 37 conference championships. In 2014, UCLA's football team beat USC for the third consecutive game in a 38-20 victory at the Rose Bowl.[152]

The schools share a rivalry in many other sports. In men's volleyball, UCLA won 19 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships against USC's four.[148] UCLA also dominates the all-time series vs. USC in men's volleyball (86–34).[153] In women's volleyball UCLA leads the all-time series against USC as well and has won eight national champions to USC's six.[154] In soccer, UCLA leads USC in the all-time series 13–3–0, yet USC no longer competes in men's NCAA Division I soccer.[155] The Crosstown Gauntlet is the name given to the official competition between the two schools in 18 varsity sports where UCLA has won the annual award three times and USC has won the award on eight occasions.[156] This rivalry even extends to the Olympic Games, where UCLA athletes have won 250 medals over a short span of 50 years while USC athletes have won 287 that took nearly 100 years to accomplish.[157][158][159]

The origin is unclear, but the rivalry most likely started when football Hall of Fame coach Red Sanders led UCLA to dominance in the 1950s. USC, having won four national championships prior to UCLA's first and only title in 1954 diverted some attention from then-rival University of Notre Dame, and the new cross-town rivalry began.[160]

The campus' location in Los Angeles makes excursions to local museums, theaters, or other entertainment venues relatively convenient. UCLA offers classical orchestras, intramural sports, and over 800 student organizations. UCLA is also home to more than 70 Greek-letter organizations. Fraternity and sorority members represent 15% of the student population.[162]Phrateres, a non-exclusive social-service club for women was founded here in 1924 by the Dean of Women, Helen Matthewson Laughlin. The Student Alumni Association (SAA) branch of the UCLA Alumni Association conducts UCLA's oldest and greatest traditions, such as Blue and Gold Week, Senior Send-off, Spring Sing, and Dinners for 12 Strangers. UCLA also operates the UCLA Marina Aquatic Center in Marina del Rey, where students and staff participate in dinghy sailing, surfing, windsurfing, rowing, and kayaking.

UCLA is often regarded as the pioneer in the West Coast collegiate contemporary a cappella tradition with its first group, Awaken A Cappella, founded in 1992. The all-male group on campus, Bruin Harmony, has enjoyed a successful career since its inception in 2006, portraying a collegiate a cappella group in The Social Network (2010), while the ScatterTones finished in second-place in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in 2011–2013. Other a cappella groups on campus include Signature, Random Voices, Medleys, YOUTHphonics, Deviant Voices, Awechords and Cadenza. YOUTHphonics and Medleys are UCLA's only nonprofit service-oriented a cappella groups.[163]

There are also a variety of cultural organizations on campus, such as Nikkei Student Union (NSU), Japanese Student Association (JSA),[164] Association of Chinese Americans (ACA), Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), Chinese Music Ensemble (CME), Chinese Cultural Dance Club (CCDC), Taiwanese American Union (TAU), Taiwanese Student Association (TSA), Hong Kong Student Society (HKSS), Hanoolim Korean Cultural Awareness Group, Samahang Pilipino, Vietnamese Student Union (VSU), and Thai Smakom, each with its focuses on sharing culture and history. Many of these organizations have an annual "culture night" consisting of drama and dance which raises awareness of culture and history to the campus and community.

UCLA's official charity is UniCamp, founded in 1934. It is a week-long summer camp for under-served children from the greater Los Angeles area, with UCLA volunteer counselors. Student volunteers attend two hour training sessions once a week during spring quarter to prepare them for their week at camp. UniCamp runs for seven weeks throughout the summer at Camp River Glen in the San Bernardino National Forest. Because UniCamp is a non-profit organization, student volunteers from UCLA also fundraise money throughout the year to allow these children to attend summer camp.[165]

UCLA begins the fall quarter with True Bruin Welcome to introduce new students to clubs and activities. The week includes the Day of Service for all freshmen, the Enormous Activities Fair, the Sports Fair, and other events. At the end of move-in and the beginning of True Bruin Welcome, UCLA holds Bruin Bash. Hosted by the USAC Campus Events Commission and USAC Cultural Affairs Commission, Bruin Bash includes a concert, dance, and movie. Past performers include Thrice and Common (2005), Xzibit and Rooney (2006), T.I. (2007), The Cool Kids, Estelle, Hellogoodbye (2008), LMFAO and Clipse (2009), Ying Yang Twins, Travis McCoy and The Cataracs (2010). Bruin Bash was created as a replacement for Black Sunday, a large-scale day of partying including all fraternities, in North Westwood Village, where the majority of off-campus students reside adjacent to campus.

Dance Marathon is an annual event organized by the Pediatric AIDS Coalition, previously held in Ackerman Grand Ballroom and since 2014 Pauley Pavilion, where thousands of students raise a minimum of $250 and dance for 26 hours to support the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Project Kindle, and the UCLA AIDS Institute. Dancers are not allowed to sit (except to use the restroom) during the marathon, literally taking a stand against pediatric AIDS, and symbolizing the suffering of affected children around the world. In 2015, Dance Marathon at UCLA raised $446,157.[166]

UCLA students also participate in "Midnight Yell" during Finals Week, where every midnight, students yell as loudly as possible for a few minutes, taking a short break from studying and releasing some stress.

The quarterly Undie Run takes place during the Wednesday evening of Finals Week, when students run through the campus in their underwear or in skimpy costumes. The run began in Fall of 2001 when a student, Eric Whitehead, wearing what he described as "really short shorts" walked around singing and playing a guitar to protest the police restrictions on the Midnight Yell.[167] With the increasing safety hazards and Police and Administration involvement, a student committee changed the route to a run through campus to Shapiro Fountain, which now culminates with students dancing in the fountain.[168] In 2007, the route was changed again to begin at Strathmore Avenue instead of Landfair Avenue. The Undie Run has spread to other American universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University, and Syracuse University.

Spring Sing 2009

The Alumni Association sponsors several events, usually large extravaganzas involving huge amounts of coordination, such as the 69-year old Spring Sing, organized by the Student Alumni Association (SAA). UCLA's oldest tradition, Spring Sing is an annual gala of student talent, which is held at either Pauley Pavilion or the outdoor Los Angeles Tennis Center. The committee bestows the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award each year to a major contributor to the music industry. Past recipients have included Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, James Taylor, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones,[169]Lionel Richie, and in 2009, Julie Andrews.[170] The Dinner for 12 Strangers, a common tradition among universities, is a gathering of students, alumni, administration and faculty to network around different interests.[171] The week before the USC rivalry football game, there is a "Beat 'SC Bonfire and Rally".

Crowd at JazzReggae Festival 2010 at UCLA.

The USAC Cultural Affairs Commission hosts the JazzReggae Festival, a two-day concert on Memorial Day weekend that attracts more than 20,000 attendees. The JazzReggae Festival is the largest, entirely student produced and run event of its kind on the West Coast.[172]

Sigma Eta Pi and Bruin Entrepreneurs organize an annual hackathon called LA Hacks, a weekend-long programming competition where students from around the nation come to build technology products. LA Hacks established itself as the largest hackathon in the nation when over 1500 students participated in April 11–13, 2014.[173] LA Hacks also holds the record for the most funds raised via corporate sponsorships with $250,000 raised. Some of the tech world's most prominent people have given talks and judged projects at LA Hacks, including Evan Spiegel (Founder and CEO of Snapchat), Alexis Ohanian (Co-Founder of Reddit), Baiju Bhatt (Co-Founder of Robinhood), Sam Altman (President of Y Combinator), Chris De Wolfe (Founder of Myspace), and Tomer Kagan (Co-Founder and CEO of Quixey).

Kerckhoff Hall houses the offices of student government and the Daily Bruin.

The Associated Students UCLA (ASUCLA) encompasses the student government and student-led enterprises at UCLA. ASUCLA has four major components: the Undergraduate Students Association, the Graduate Students Association, Student Media, and services & enterprises. However, in common practice, the term ASUCLA is often more narrowly used to refer to the services and enterprises component. This includes the Student Store, Bookstore, Food Services, Student Union, etc. These commercial enterprises generate approximately $90 million in annual revenues, making it financially the largest student government operation in the world.[174] As a nonprofit corporation, the financial goal of ASUCLA is to provide quality services and programs at reasonable prices. ASUCLA is governed by a student-majority Board of Directors. The Undergraduate Students Association and Graduate Students Association each appoint three members plus one alternate. In addition to the student members, there are representatives appointed by the administration, the academic senate, and the alumni association. The "services and enterprises" portion of ASUCLA is run by a professional executive director who oversees some 300 staff and 2,000 student employees.

The Graduate Students Association is the governing body for approximately 13,000 graduate and professional students at UCLA.[175]

The Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) is the governing body of the Undergraduate Students Association (USA) whose membership comprises every UCLA undergraduate student.[176] The student body currently has two major political slates, Bruins United and Let's Act.

USAC's fourteen student officers and commissioners are elected by members of the Undergraduate Students Association at an annual election held during Spring Quarter. In addition to its fourteen elected members, USAC includes appointed representatives of the Administration, the Alumni, and the Faculty, as well as two ex-officio members, the ASUCLA Executive Director and a student Finance Committee Chairperson who is appointed by the USA President and approved by USAC. All members of USAC may participate fully in Council deliberations, but only the elected officers, minus the USAC President may vote.

The USAC President appoints more than seventy undergraduates to administrative committees and the Academic Affairs Commissioner Appoints approximately 25 undergraduates to Academic Senate Committees. Students have an opportunity to serve on the ASUCLA Board of Directors and the Communications Board, as well as on other significant committees, having input into the decision making process at a high level.

USAC's programs offers additional services to the campus and surrounding communities. For example, each year approximately 40,000 students, faculty and staff attend programs of the Campus Events Commission, including a low-cost film program, a speakers program which presents leading figures from a wide range of disciplines, and performances by dozens of entertainers. Two to three thousand UCLA undergraduates participate annually in the more than twenty voluntary outreach programs run by the Community Service Commission. A large corps of undergraduate volunteers also participate in programs run by the Student Welfare Commission, such as AIDS Awareness, Substance Abuse Awareness, Blood Drives and CPR/First Aid Training.

Student Media UCLA is the home of UCLA's student-run media, including the campus newspaper, magazines, and radio and television stations.[177] Most student media publications distributed on-campus are governed by the ASUCLA Communications Board.

The Daily Bruin is UCLA's most prominent student publication. Founded in 1919 under the name Cub Californian, it has since then developed into Los Angeles' third-most circulated newspaper. It has won over 20 national awards in the last five years, and is regularly commended for layout and content. In 2006, the Society of Professional Journalists awarded it Best All-Around Daily Newspaper in the national Mark of Excellence Awards.[178] The newspaper has not been without scrutiny and controversy, and in 1954, the administration attempted to intervene with the previous policy of electing editors by a student council.

UCLA Student Media also publishes seven news magazines, each established to serve a special-interest community on campus: Al-Talib, Fem, Ha'Am, La Gente de Aztlan, Nommo, Pacific Ties, and Outwrite, a school yearbook, BruinLife, the student-run radio station, UCLAradio.com, formerly known as KLA, and the online campus review-site Bruinwalk.com.

Student groups such as The Forum for Energy Economics and Development also publish yearly journals focused on energy technologies and industries. There are also numerous graduate student-run journals at UCLA, such as Carte Italiane, Issues in Applied Linguistics, and Mediascape.[179] Many of these publications are available through open access. The School of Law publishes the UCLA Law Review which is currently ranked seventh among American law schools.[180]

Most undergraduate students are housed in 14 complexes on the western side of campus, referred to by students as "The Hill". Students can live in halls, plazas, suites, or university apartments, which vary in pricing and privacy. Housing plans also offer students access to dining facilities, which have been ranked by the Princeton Review as some of the best in the United States.[182] Dining halls are located in De Neve, Rieber, Covel, and Hedrick Halls. In winter 2012, a dining hall called The Feast at Rieber opened to students. The newest dining hall (as of Winter Quarter 2014) is Bruin Plate, located in the Carnesale Commons (commonly referred to as Sproul Plaza). Residential cafes include Bruin Cafe, Rendezvous, and Cafe 1919 which formerly housed a cafe known as Puzzles.[183] UCLA currently offers three years guaranteed housing to its incoming freshmen, and one year to incoming transfer students. There are four type of housing available for students: residential halls, deluxe residential halls, residential plazas, and residential suites. Available on the hill are study rooms, basketball courts, tennis courts, and Sunset Recreational Center which includes three swimming pools.

Graduate students are housed in one of five apartment complexes. Weyburn Terrace is located just southwest of the campus in Westwood Village. The other four are roughly five miles south of UCLA in Palms and Mar Vista. They too vary in pricing and privacy.[184]

Students who are involved in Greek life have the option to also live in Greek housing while at UCLA. Sorority houses are located east of campus on Hilgard Avenue, and fraternity houses are located west of campus throughout Westwood Village. A student usually lives with 50+ students in Greek housing.

Hospitality constituents of the university include departments not directly related to student life or administration. The Hospitality department manages the UCLA Guest House, a full-service, on-campus hotel. The 61-room Guest House services those visiting the university for campus-related activities.[185] The department also manages the UCLA Conference Center, a 40 acre (0.2 km²) conference center in the San Bernardino Mountains near Lake Arrowhead.[186] Hospitality also operates UCLA Catering[187] a vending operation, and summer conference center located on the Westwood campus.[188]

Geography professor Jared Diamond won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for his book Guns, Germs, and Steel.[204] Two UCLA history professors have each won 2008 Pulitzer Prizes for general nonfiction and history. Saul Friedländer, professor of history and noted scholar of the Nazi Holocaust, won the prize for general nonfiction for his 2006 book, The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939–1945, and Professor Emeritus Daniel Walker Howe won for his 2007 book, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848.

UCLA also boasts an excellent military background, with hundreds of alumni serving their nation. Carlton Skinner was a U.S. Navy Commander who racially integrated the service at the end of World War II on the USS Sea Cloud. He was also the first civilian governor of Guam. Francis B. Wai is, to date, the only Chinese-American and the first Asian-American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in World War II. UCLA also lost an alumnus in early 2007 when Second Lieutenant Mark Daily was killed in Mosul, Iraq after his HMMWV was hit by an IED. Lieutenant Daily's service is marked by a plaque located on the northern face of the Student Activities Center (SAC), where the ROTC halls are currently located.